Nottingham's famous Goose Fair will be going ahead this year - and it will be double the fun. The annual event, postponed for two years due to the pandemic, will be held over ten days instead of the usual five, making it the longest in the 700-year-old fair's history.
The Nottinghamshire Showmen's Guild and Nottingham City Council have struck an agreement after a two-hour meeting to make the 2022 fair at Forest Recreation Ground bigger and better, from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 9. The bumper event is designed to spread out the 450,000 people it attracts, boost tourism and bring in more money for the showmen who missed out in 2020 and 2021.
Showmen's Guild chairman William Percival confirmed there will be no entrance fee after the controversial idea was mooted last year. "We're very excited to be back. Previously I didn't know if it was going to happen or not. We've fully agreed for the ten days and the fair will be run as it's always been run. No admission charge, no fencing off and no restrictions whatsoever, as they wanted to put a restriction on how many people.
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"It's just as it was in 2019 for the people of Nottingham and people who come to Goose Fair it will be a good fair and worth waiting for. Application forms are going out at the end of this month and I'm sure there will be some different rides.
"I notice one of the vaccination centres has gone and the other one we have been told will be gone in June, so the site will be back as it was," added Mr Percival.
Families are concerned about the expense of rides with the cost of living and energy prices on the up but Mr Percival said: "I think the majority of the rides will be a similar price to what they used to be in 2019, from what I've gathered from some of my colleagues. We can't increase our prices too much. We've got to absorb quite a lot of it."
"We don't know what the extra five days will do but we're hoping that people will spread themselves out. From other fairs we've done they've been well attended, so I can't see why Goose Fair won't be well attended - probably more so than before."
Until the pandemic in 2020, the fair, which is more than 738 years old, had only been axed a few times due to the Bubonic Plague in the 17th century and the two world wars.
Nottingham City Council's Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture, Councillor Eunice Campbell-Clark, said: “All major events like Goose Fair are planned in conjunction with multi agency partners to ensure they are safe and well managed. All partners have been initially consulted on the ten-day fair proposal and there have been no significant objections raised. We are therefore pleased to start our detailed event planning on the basis of a ten-day fair.
"However, we must still undergo a process of assurance testing both within the council and with external partners to ensure the fair can be delivered safely and with the minimum of increased impact. These assurances will be tested through the usual major event planning processes. After two years of cancellations, we are looking forward to staging the 2022 fair and we will continue working with the Showmen’s Guild to ensure that it is a real success for Nottingham residents and visitors.”
When Nottinghamshire Live first broke the news that the fair could be extended, our Facebook page was flooded with comments, both for and against.
Tamzii Dijaun said: "Yay can't wait it's always on during my birthday and I've missed it the past 2 years." Andrew Holdstock commented: "This should be fantastic. Gives folk more time and better time to go."
Kelly Louise Ward posted: "Can't wait, we love the Goose Fair, and we have missed going, 10 day event sounds good as we both work full time, and do sometimes struggle to find family time, just don't do a price hike to compensate."
Mick Burch wrote: "As much as l love Goose Fair lots of people won’t be able to afford to go due to the rise in the cost of living. Mushy Peas or pay your leccy."
